Good Guys Win, Bad Guys Lose
by Lisa Von Cooper
Summary: (Reloaded with Older Vanellope!) Vanellope hates the fact that people are suspicious of her relationship with Ralph, just because he's a Bad Guy. So one night, she sneaks into the penthouse basement and alters his code to make him Good. But every action has a consequence - Ralph is Good, but that makes Felix the Bad Guy . . .
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: This is my first Wreck-It Ralph fanfiction, so I hope you like it! I published this story previously with Vanellope as a twelve-year-old, but then I realised that for a romance between Ralph and Vanellope to work in the way I wanted it to, she would have to be older. So now she is in her twenties, and I am republishing the story. (I've made Vanellope twenty-four, Ralph twenty-seven, Felix twenty-six and Calhoun twenty-nine). Vanellope's still a little rude and excitable, but that's because of her personality here, not her age. **

**Just to warn everyone, this is rated T for a reason. There will be romance, some swearing (maybe), and depending on how it develops, someone is going to die. Now that's out of the way, enjoy this (short) first chapter! Reviews would be much appreciated. **

Chapter One: Good Guys Start, Bad Guys Stop

At the end of the day, while all the other Sugar Rush racers were parking their karts and talking about the day's races, Vanellope Von Schweetz was looking for her boyfriend. He always came for her once the arcade closed, but the timing varied. Sometimes he came straight away. At other times he was late. Once, Vanellope was in bed when he finally turned up, with a box of chocolates and a sad-puppy look on his face.

Today, Vanellope was lucky. She had just slipped her Candy Kart into the castle garage when she saw him coming. As usual, he was wearing an orange t-shirt and red dungarees. As usual, his hair was gelled into spikes. As usual, his hands were freakishly big.

As usual, he was gorgeous.

Vanellope, too happy to run, glitched into his outstretched arms. Wreck-It Ralph held her close to his chest. "Did you miss me?" he asked.

Vanellope rolled her eyes as she pulled away. "Of course! Gadoi!"

Ralph chuckled, sitting on a jawbreaker. "You know we saw each other yesterday, right?"

"Yesterday?" Vanellope gasped, plonking herself next to him. "That was such a long time ago! I wish I could be with you all the time."

Ralph raised an eyebrow. "Where? You can't abandon Sugar Rush – you're the President. And we all know what happened when I left _my_ game."

Vanellope chose to ignore his last comment and said, "I might not be President for much longer, not if Taffyta gets elected."

"Ah, Taffyta. Are you still friends?"

"So far, yes. She got mad earlier, because Rancis said he crossed the finish line first, but the game said _she'd_ won. She said that the game must be right, but Rancis insisted that he'd won, and I agreed with him 'cause I'd seen him win. Taffyta didn't like that. But then I heard her say sorry to Rancis – and she even gave him a lollipop." Vanellope's arms, which had been flying around to emphasise parts of her story, now flopped to her sides. "That was nice of her, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," Ralph nodded. "You can't go wrong with an apology."

"Mm-hmm."

They were silent for a moment. Vanellope looked around her land. She noticed that a large tree in the Candy Cane Forest was bent over, close to falling down. She made a mental note to warn Torvald Batterbutter, who had just been elected Sugar Rush's official Tree Surgeon. "How's Felix?" Vanellope asked suddenly.

Ralph jumped at the sound of her voice, obviously not expecting it. "Oh, you know . . . I wreck stuff, he fixes it . . ." He shrugged. "What else is there to say?"

_A lot,_ Vanellope thought. She frowned. That was the one thing that annoyed her about Ralph; he just wasn't talkative. When she had a story to tell, he listened eagerly. But when she asked him about his game, Fix-It Felix Jr., he would talk vaguely about the daily routine and then not say anything. At first she was just happy that she could hear his voice, but by now that wasn't enough. She was sick of the short conversations.

"If you're not gonna tell me anything about your life," she said, "I'd better come over and see it for myself."

"I don't think so," Ralph said immediately.

"Why not?"

Ralph sighed. "It just wouldn't . . . look good."

"Why not?" Vanellope asked again, peering at his face. She had asked this question many times, and he had always failed to give a good answer.

Today was different. "Look, I'm a Bad Guy – technically. That makes people suspicious. They wonder why we're dating." He looked away. "They think I might . . . you know . . . do something bad to you."

"Like what?"

"Uh . . ." Ralph shifted his feet.

Vanellope understood. She shuddered, and so did Ralph.

"Anyway," he continued, "it's okay if I come here. It's a big, bright place with lots of people, so you could escape and hide and then someone else would be there to help. But my game is smaller and darker, and the Nicelanders don't usually hang around."

Vanellope tilted her head in confusion. "But I know you," she said. "I know you're not that kind of guy. Who cares what anyone else thinks? You shouldn't let them bother you."

"I don't" said Ralph immediately.

"Then let me come over tomorrow night."

Ralph turned away. "No."

"Come on! Just this once. I never have to go there again, as long as I go there once." Vanellope stretched out a hand. "Let's shake on it, huh?"

Ralph didn't respond.

"Hello? Ralph? Are you with me?"

Ralph still didn't move. Vanellope's arm was aching now. She had to hold it up with her other arm to stop it collapsing. "Look, do we have a deal? 'Cause I'm not letting you go until we do."

Ralph growled. "All right." He turned and offered his hand. "Just this once, okay?"

"Sure," Vanellope said, knowing she didn't mean it.

She shook his hand – although, given his hand's size, she was really shaking his finger. She smiled, and not just because his finger was squidgy.

"This is great," she said. A ball of glee rose in her chest. "This is great!" she said again, louder this time. "I'm actually meeting Ralph in his own game! I'm so happy I could-" She gasped and clutched her mouth. "I am so close to vurping it's scary!"

"I'm outta here," Ralph cried, scrambling to his feet and running off.

Vanellope was left alone, her brain running in circles with excitement. Frantic thoughts kept crashing into her mind. _What's it gonna be like? Will Felix be there? Are the Nicelanders really nice? Will they think my hair is weird? _

She stopped suddenly. _Sweet mother of Monkey Milk, I need a new outfit! _


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Spread the word! On with the next chapter! I am definitely overdoing the exclamation marks! **

Chapter Two: Good Guys Laugh, Bad Guys Sulk

The next day was a Saturday. Litwak's Arcade would be closed all day Sunday, so Saturday was seen as a time to celebrate having a break from work. Normally Felix and the Nicelanders would party in the penthouse, while Ralph would try to shut out the music and catch up on his sleep in the garbage. Today, however, Ralph was standing at the train station, waiting for Vanellope. Every five seconds he looked at his wrist, even though he wasn't wearing a watch.

After what seemed like thirty years, the train carrying his sort-of girlfriend rolled into the station. Vanellope looked completely different. Instead of her teal hoodie and brown skirt, she wore a poufy pink dress with white frills and ribbons. Her shiny black hair had been taken out of its ponytail and curled at the ends, giving it buoyancy and sweetness. As she climbed out of the carriage, Ralph noticed the ballet pumps on her feet, also pink. Vanellope dusted off her dress and smiled.

"What do you think?" she asked.

Ralph didn't realise his mouth was hanging open until he tried to move it. "It's . . . beautiful," he managed to say. It sounded pathetic coming from him. She was clearly _more_ than beautiful.

"I hope it's not too much," she said. "I guess I just freaked out because I'm going to a whole new place – I wanted to make a good impression."

"Oh, you will," Ralph reassured her, taking her hand and leading her towards the towering penthouse. "You will."

. . .

Inside, the party was in full swing. The stereo in the corner was belting out some obscure electronic tune from the Eighties. "Strobe lights" (actually torches with coloured light bulbs) had been hung from the ceiling and now spun round on their strings. You could kid yourself that the lights were dancing in time to the music. The whole left wall had been taken up with tables of food, labelled with the rather broad categories of "Sweet," "Savoury" and "Drinks."

As Vanellope walked in and gazed around in wonder, Ralph ducked down and concentrated on not hitting his head on the ceiling. The Nicelanders turned to the door. The music slowed down and then stopped. Everyone was staring at Ralph.

"Hey, guys," Ralph said, waving. "I know what you're thinking, but don't worry. I'm not staying for long-"

Somewhere, Gene breathed a sigh of relief.

"-I just wanted to introduce you to Vanellope. And this-" he pointed to her "-this is Vanellope."

"Hi!" Now it was Vanellope's turn to wave.

At the sight of the cute little lady, everyone relaxed. A new song, "99 Red Balloons," began to play. Mary asked her if she wanted some cake, and Vanellope made a beeline for the "Sweet" party food. Ralph was left to stand around like a lemon while everyone else had fun.

It was almost a relief when Felix walked over. "I'm glad you brought her over. She's a sweet kid," he said.

"Mm-hmm."

"We should definitely double-date sometime – you and Vanellope, and me and Tammy . . ."

Ralph wasn't really listening. He was straining to hear Vanellope, Gene and Mary's conversation over the instrumental.

"So, Ralph comes over every day, does he?" Mary was asking.

"Yep. When the arcade closes, he's there."

"And what do you do?"

"Oh, we just talk. Well, _I_ talk. Ralph just listens."

"Is that it?" asked Gene.

"Uh-huh."

"And you haven't done anything . . . else together?" Gene's question was laced with suspicion.

"Well, I gave him a tour of the castle once. And another time, we went strawberry-picking, and I picked the most strawberries."

"Ooh, that sounds quite romantic!" cooed Mary. "Is it all lovey-dovey and kissy-wissy with him?"

"We kissed once."

Mary and Gene gasped.

"You sound surprised," Vanellope noted.

Ralph did not like the way this conversation was heading. Felix was still talking, so Ralph just asked, "Would you excuse me for a moment?" and made his way over to the buffet. He grabbed Vanellope's right arm a little too quickly and said, "Well, now you've seen what my life is like. You should be going now."

"Huh?" Vanellope glanced between him and Mary.

"Oh, there's no need to rush off," Mary insisted. "We were having a nice conversation there, weren't we?"

Vanellope didn't reply. She just stared at Ralph.

"Yeah, but it's past her bedtime now," Ralph said, "so we should be going."

"She's twenty-four!" said Mary. Ralph tried to pull Vanellope away, but Mary grabbed Vanellope's other arm and held out a plate. "Would you like some more cake?" she asked with a hint of desperation.

"Her game is made of cake. She doesn't need any more. Now let go of her-"

Ralph pulled harder, making Vanellope whimper a little. But Mary did not let go. "Why can't she stay for a while?"

"She has to go home."

"She has to stay here so we can keep an eye on her!" snapped Gene.

"YOU DON'T NEED TO KEEP AN EYE ON HER!" Ralph bellowed.

With a final tug, he yanked Vanellope out of Mary's arm – and yanked her shoulder out of its socket.

Vanellope screamed. The music stopped. The room was filled with gasps and whispers.

"Did he just do that?"

"I had a bad feeling about them from the beginning."

"She's not safe with him!"

For a moment, Ralph was frozen on the spot. His eyes were fixed on Vanellope, who was rubbing her shoulder and blinking fiercely. Then he crashed through the wall, leaving a Ralph-shaped hole behind him. He stomped off quickly. His eyes were shut. He didn't know where he was going. He just knew he had to get away of there.

"Ralph!"

He stopped, turned and opened his eyes to see Vanellope running behind him with her dress flying out behind her. She skidded to a halt.

Ralph noticed that her shoulder seemed to be back in its place. "You healed up pretty quickly."

"Felix fixed it."

"I should've guessed."

Vanellope twirled a strand of hair around her finger. "You were right. I shouldn't have come."

"I'm sorry about your arm-"

"It's not that," she interrupted him. "It was . . . ugh. They kept asking questions and I tried to give them short answers, 'cause I wanted them to get the message. But they just asked _more_ questions." She sighed and stared down at the ground. "Love is complicated."

"It sure is," Ralph agreed.

There was a pause.

"Sometimes I wish you were a Good Guy," Vanellope said, almost in a whisper.

"Me too," Ralph whispered back. "But it's pointless. You can't change who you are."

Vanellope's head jerked up suddenly. "Can't you?"

"Nope," Ralph said. Then he noticed the glint in her eye. Vanellope's eyes were chocolate-brown, but occasionally Ralph saw a spark of white. It always appeared when she had an idea – usually a bad idea. "Why do you ask that?"

"I'm just thinking about something."

It seemed that now it was her turn to be the non-talkative one.

A train pulled into the station – the last one of the night. Vanellope rushed past Ralph and hopped in. "I'll see you around, Stinkbrain," she called as the train pulled away. "Stinkbrain" was her nickname for him.

"Sure thing, Booger-Face," Ralph called back.

That was his nickname for her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Okay, I've think I've sorted out the chapters now. I'll be uploading them file by file rather than copying and pasting as I had been doing. Thanks for the helpful reviews! Keep them coming! :) Don't expect regular updates, though – I'm revising for exams, so they take priority. But I'll do what I can. **

Chapter Three: Good Guys Wait, Bad Guys Rush

Vanellope took a deep breath as she tried the door to the basement. It seemed the Nicelanders weren't tight on security – their password was the standard up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, START. She pulled the door open and gasped.

The penthouse basement was dark, save for the light of the codes. This was the place where the details of everything were stored – from the characters to the objects they interacted with. Everything had a box containing its electric-blue code. Some boxes were connected to others with multi-coloured cables, while others floated off on their own. Anything that happened here could affect the whole of Fix-It Felix Jr.

Vanellope's mouth hung open. In a daze, she spotted a rope on the wall by the door and tied it around her waist. She stood in her pyjamas and looked out into the semi-darkness. She wasn't supposed to be there. She was meant to be in Sugar Rush, drifting off to sleep in her luxurious castle bedroom. But something in her nightmares had brought her back. What was she doing here?

_Vanellope, think about this. You know all too well what happened when Turbo messed with your code. He ruined your life. Don't do it. _

_But I've got to at least try. I know about codes and how they work. Unlike Turbo, I know what I'm doing. Ralph and I can't be together if we're surrounded by mistrust. _

_If you've gotten this far, you can go on. Love conquers all, right? _

_Not without help. _

_Why are you doing this anyway? _

_I'm doing this for Ralph. _

_Are you sure you're not just doing this for yourself? Aren't you just trying to make yourself feel better about dating a brute? You're worried you can't love him enough as he is, so – _

_Shut up! I'm not listening to you anymore. _

To silence her fears, Vanellope leapt into the empty space. The laws of gravity were ignored down here – instead of plummeting to her death, she floated. She swam breaststroke through the air, feeling both weightless and heavily burdened, towards the jumble of boxes and cables. Her arm brushed past something and a blue spark jumped out at her.

She froze. Nothing else happened.

She sighed, and carried on.

Finally she found what she was looking for. It was a black rectangular box labelled with the words WRECK-IT RALPH and a picture of Ralph looking angry. A number of cables spread out from the top and bottom, but only one was of interest to Vanellope. It was wrapped in grey and oozing something black and smelly. This was the code that could make a Bad Guy. Vanellope gripped the grey cable, wincing when something slimy dripped onto her hand, and gave it a tug. It came out, but it protested with a shower of sparks and symbols. Ralph's box was now flickering like a television screen with lousy reception.

_Now what? _

She couldn't exactly leave Ralph's code like this. An incomplete code made someone a Glitch, and Vanellope's intention was not to make Ralph a Glitch. She had to find something to plug the gap with. She spun around frantically, until – _bingo!_

There was a yellow box nearby with a shiny gold cable shooting through the top. And Gold was Good. Vanellope pulled it out and shoved it into Ralph's box.

She gave it a few seconds. One. Two. Three.

A blanket of glitter swept over Ralph's box, changing the colour from black to yellow. Apart from that, nothing happened. That was a good sign. But Vanellope was still clutching the dirty Bad Guy cable, which was turning her hand black, and the yellow box was glitching like it was going out of fashion.

_What the heck do I do with this thing? _Her head swivelled between the cable and the box. She made a snap decision. Quickly she pushed the cable into the one free space. She would have to leave it there and hope she wasn't wrecking anything important.

When the yellow box had turned black and nothing else had happened, Vanellope sighed. Now was a good time to go home. As she made her way back, using the rope as a guideline, Vanellope couldn't help but notice that the doorway seemed much taller. And when she left the building, she couldn't see Ralph's massive shape sleeping in the garbage pile.

She shook her head. _You're just seeing things because you're panicking. Don't worry. When Ralph visits in the morning, you can see how he is, but until then, don't worry. _


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: Thanks, Dixie Darlin! I've corrected Chapter Two now. :) I hope **_**this**_** chapter is okay. Keep reviewing! **

Chapter Four: Good Guys Accept, Bad Guys Refuse

_Ralph was running. He didn't know where he was running to, only that he was following Vanellope and needed to keep up with her. She kept glancing over her shoulder to see if he was there. Every time she confirmed this, her eyes widened a little bit more. _

_Ralph thought he was running through Sugar Rush, but he couldn't tell. It was much too dark, and yet he recognised the hooked branches of the trees in the Candy Cane Forest. In the corner of his eye, something flew past in the opposite direction. Was it a cybug? Was that what Vanellope was running from? _

"_Vanellope-" Ralph called, but he was cut off by a small scream. She was now running faster, towards Diet Cola Mountain. She slammed through the secret entrance between two sugar-less lollipops. Ralph crashed through the wall after her, tripping a little on a rock. _

_Inside, Vanellope finally came to a stop, crashing into another wall that would not let her through. She turned and whimpered. _

"_What was that all about?" Ralph asked, a little out of breath. _

_Vanellope didn't reply. She just stood there trembling. _

"_I think we lost that cybug or whatever it was-" _

"_Get away from me!" Vanellope shouted. In her fear, she seemed to be shrinking into a ball. The twenty-four-year-old was acting like a child who'd spotted a monster coming out of her closet. _

_That was when realisation hit him. Vanellope had been running away from _him_. _

_Ralph took a step forward, but Vanellope pointed a finger at him and cried, "Don't come any closer!" _

_Ralph opened his mouth to protest, but when he tried to talk, nothing came out. It was like someone had smeared glue over his lips. He put a hand to his mouth – and noticed that his hand was glitching. _

_And then his world exploded into blue pixels. Ralph could feel his body ripping open, everything inside spreading out and sizzling like a bonfire. It was the worst pain he'd ever experienced. _

_His chest was tearing itself in half. His hands were burning. His head was pounding. _

_Above it all he could still hear the screams . . . _

It took a while for Ralph to realise that he was the one screaming. Actually, he wasn't so much screaming as roaring in terror. He clamped a hand over his mouth, sat up in bed and –

Wait a minute, _bed_?

Ralph looked down. Sure enough, he was in a bed, with blue sheets and a fluffy pillow and everything. He poked a finger into the mattress and heard the compression and release of the springs. Was he still dreaming? He couldn't be sure.

Ralph thought he could make out the shape of a lamp next to the bed. His huge fingers fumbled around for a bit before hitting the switch. Now he could sort-of tell where he was – a bedroom. The lamp's harsh yellow light threw up a closet, a mirror and a wall lined with medals.

_Medals?! _

_What the heck am I doing in Felix's bedroom? _

Now completely freaked out, Ralph leapt out of bed. Too late, he remembered the ceiling and braced himself for the familiar thump on his head. But it never came. Ralph looked up. He jumped up and down, sending tremors through the building. He waved his arms above him like a madman. Still he couldn't touch the ceiling. That was weird.

_If I'm here, then where's Felix? _

Ralph staggered towards the window, hoping that it might answer his question. Looking down, he saw a pile of bricks in the dump. To most people, that dump was a lonely cesspit of despair on the outskirts of humanity. To Ralph, it was his home.

And as he peered into the night, it seemed that Felix had taken up residence there.

Felix's small build was dwarfed even more by the pile of trash surrounding him. With much huffing and puffing, Ralph pushed open the window. Now he could hear Felix snoring.

"Psst! Felix!"

Felix didn't stir.

"Hey! Wake up!"

The snoring faltered. Felix groggily lifted his head. "Too early. Go back to sleep."

"But Felix-"

Felix sat up abruptly. "Can't you take a hint?" he hissed. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he chucked his hammer at Ralph.

Ralph immediately leapt out the way and landed back on the bed. The hammer crashed through the window and hit the floor with a _thud_.

Tiptoeing around the broken glass, Ralph picked up the hammer with the tips of his fingers, as if it was something dirty. He dropped it out the broken window. "You might want to come and fix this," he suggested.

"Shut up and let me sleep," snapped Felix, who promptly lay back and recommenced his snoring.

Ralph was left awake and confused. Sure, Felix had good and bad days like everyone else, but he was never this testy. The worst Ralph had seen him was when he was locked up in the Fungeon of Sugar Rush. And that was justified, because if Ralph hadn't abandoned his game . . .

Ralph leant against the wall, lost in thought. He absent-mindedly touched the edge of the window ledge. Immediately the shattered glass disappeared from the carpet. The window pinged back into place, good as new.

That was when Ralph freaked out.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: I just need to mention that because Vanellope is in her twenties, so are the other Sugar Rush racers. It would be weird otherwise. Keep reading and reviewing! **

Chapter Five: Good Guys Give, Bad Guys Take

Vanellope sat down. She stood up again. She walked in a circle. She sat down again. She tapped her feet on the ground. She stood up again. She stretched out her arms and yawned. She sat down again. She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.

Even while she was doing this, Ralph didn't arrive.

This was unnatural. He would never leave it so late to visit Vanellope. He was normally here by noon at the latest. It was now quarter to one, and her patience was about to snap like a candy cane branch.

"Waiting for your boyfriend?"

Vanellope turned to see Taffyta Muttonfudge, her rival both on and off the racetrack. She was standing with her hands on her hips and a smirk on her face.

"So Ralph's a little late," said Vanellope. "So what?"

Taffyta flicked back her blonde hair, as if the answer to the question was obvious. "Why don't you just admit that he's not coming and get back to the castle?"

"He IS coming!" Vanellope snapped. "There's probably just some last-minute thing that popped up. Paperwork, maybe. You know how it is."

"Yeah," Taffyta said, inspecting her pink nails. "Speaking of paperwork, we _really_ need you back at the castle. Torvald checked out that tree and she's pretty sure there's some sort of fungus eating it-"

"Yeah, okay, I'm on it." Vanellope was distracted. She leapt to her feet. "Right after I go and look for Ralph."

As she walked away, Taffyta called out, "Do you want _me_ to sort out the tree thing?"

Vanellope paused to look back at the strawberry-themed racer. Her pose was so relaxed, so confident – the opposite of how Vanellope felt.

"I mean," Taffyta continued, "it's pretty much guaranteed that I'm gonna be the next president anyway, so . . . I might as well get used to the paperwork now."

Vanellope carried on walking.

Her mind was elsewhere.

. . .

No trains ran on Sundays, so Vanellope had to walk all the way to Fix-It Felix Jr. At Game Central Station, she passed Surge Protector, who was busy writing something in a notebook. "'Scuse me," she asked, "have you seen Wreck-It Ralph pass by here?"

He looked up. "Sorry, kid, I haven't. And if he did, I would have checked him out first. You never can tell with those types."

_Those types?! Who does he think Ralph is, the Bogeyman? _

"That's okay," said Vanellope, although it wasn't.

She continued through the tunnel. She wasn't used to such darkness – Sugar Rush didn't have a night cycle, so she had never experienced the terrors of night-time. Here, she tried to focus straight ahead to her destination, thinking about what she would say when she got there.

'_Why didn't you turn up?' No, I can't just jump into it. I need to build it up. 'Hey, Ralph! Great to see you, chump! I just came round here because you didn't. What were you doing?' Hmm, is that too rude? Okay, if he asks what I'm doing, I'll say I'm doing someone a favour – then I'll just run around looking like I'm doing someone a favour! _

It didn't work out that way.

As she approached the light at the end of the tunnel, she could hear voices – two of them – having an argument.

"I just don't get it."

"Me neither. Hey, did you try the hammer again?"

"I've tried it a million times already!"

"Okay, okay, I'm just looking for solutions here!"

"Well, all your solutions are terrible! In fact, they – no, I can't say that, this is a kid's game."

There was a low growl, and then something flew past Vanellope's ear, so close she could hear a _whoosh_ in her hair. She froze until she heard the clatter as it fell to the floor. She waited. When she was certain that no more projectiles were on their way, she walked backwards and picked up the object.

It was Felix's hammer – but not as she knew it. Instead of being shiny and gold, it was dull and grey. It felt heavy in her hands, and she was sure she was going to drop it.

She stepped forward. "Uh, Felix? Do you need this?"

"What do you think?"

Again, this was not the Felix she knew. His clothes had changed colour from bright blue to dark red. He wore grubby dungarees, and one of the straps had been torn off. His t-shirt was stained with mud. He wasn't wearing his signature hat, so Vanellope could clearly see that his mousy-brown hair was slick with grease. That didn't scare Vanellope. What scared her was his face, which was set in a scowl. His eyes seemed to be drilling into her.

"I think . . . yes."

Felix stretched out a hand. "Give it here, then."

Vanellope slowly stepped into the game, but this obviously wasn't quick enough for Felix. He snatched the hammer away so fast that his arm was a blur. Vanellope blinked.

"Um, Ralph?" she asked. "Is Felix-"

She gasped.

"-OKAY?!"

Ralph, who was standing quite a distance away from Felix, looked completely different. His messy clothes had been replaced with new jeans and a clean sky-blue shirt. His enormous feet were concealed in shiny shoes, and his hair hidden by a baseball cap. He still had freakishly big hands. That hadn't changed.

"Wow!" Vanellope took a step back. "You look . . . good!"

"Thanks," said Ralph. Was he blushing?

Vanellope kept glancing from Ralph to Felix and back again. Her tampering had certainly changed their appearances – and Felix's mood. But what else had been changed?

"Say, Ralph?" Vanellope asked carefully. "How are you feeling?"

Ralph shrugged. "Confused, mostly. Everything's different."

"Uh-huh," Vanellope nodded. "I can see that."

"We can't get out, for one thing," Ralph continued.

Vanellope frowned. "Weird." It was probably not so bad that Ralph couldn't leave. Otherwise, he would most likely yell at her for messing with the programme, and then march her back to Sugar Rush and kill her – lots of times and in many ways. For now, she had to pretend she knew nothing.

"And there's this one thing-" Ralph shuffled past Vanellope. "Hey, Felix, would you smash something for me?"

"No," was the immediate reply.

"Please? I have to show Vanellope something."

Felix marched over to the penthouse, grumbling, "What am I, a performing monkey?" When he reached the penthouse, he swung his arms and bashed the hammer through the wall, leaving a large hole. The rest of the penthouse started to tip – towards Vanellope!

"Look out!" Ralph cried.

For a second, time slowed down. Vanellope's eyes widened as the bricks approached. Then she came to her senses and glitched just as most of the penthouse crashed to the ground.

Felix regenerated above the rubble. "Happy now?"

Ralph cleared his throat. "I was gonna suggest just breaking a window, but your way is good too."

Vanellope pointed a trembling finger towards the mish-mash pile of bricks and glass. "Is that what you wanted to show me?"

"Nope." Ralph took a big step forward. "I wanted to show you _this_." He plunged his hand into the rubble.

It was one of those blink-and-you-miss-it moments. Within about half a second, the penthouse was rebuilt. Golden sparks burst from the fixed windows, and an onomatopoeic _ping_ echoed through the game.

All Vanellope could say was, "Whoa."

Ralph nodded.

"But wait, how – I mean – now I'm confused too. How did you do that? And how could Felix . . . why is he so . . ."

_. . . bad? _

With that unsaid word, a memory slotted into place. The black cable in the gold box . . .

_Oh, sugar. _

She hadn't even checked for a name. And now her mistake had come back to bite her in the butt.

"Vanellope?" Ralph's voice cut through the storm of frightened thoughts swirling in her mind. "Are you all right?"

For a moment, Vanellope was frozen. She shook her head.

Then she turned and ran.

. . .

Sargent Calhoun was just entering Game Central Station when Vanellope rushed over and almost collapsed in front of her.

"Thank code you're here! Something's wrong!" Vanellope almost yelled.

"Hello to you too," said Calhoun, smirking at her own joke.

Vanellope clutched her chest and tried to get her breath back. Calhoun's smirk disappeared. "Boy, this must be big. What the heck is going on?"

Vanellope pushed the soldier back, into a dark corner of the Hero's Duty station. "Okay, you have to let me tell you the story before you say anything."

Calhoun nodded silently.

And so Vanellope told her everything – the disastrous party, changing the codes (at which point Calhoun nearly butted in, but stopped herself), Ralph's absence, what she saw in Fix-It Felix, Jr. – everything.

When she had finished, Calhoun's face was blurry. Vanellope blinked. Now she clearly saw that Calhoun's eyes were a little harder, her mouth a little thinner. "You know what happens next?" Calhoun finally asked.

"Nuh-uh." Vanellope swallowed.

"When the arcade opens, the game's gonna be different, because their roles are gonna be different. And the kids are gonna notice because kids notice everything."

Vanellope hadn't thought of that.

"Old Litwak might think there's something wrong with the game – which, to be honest, there is." Calhoun paused. "You know what happens after that?"

Vanellope said nothing. Her legs were shaking.

"The game gets unplugged. The characters are homeless – except Ralph and Felix, who can't leave. When Litwak pulls the plug-"

"No," Vanellope whispered.

"They'll be out faster than a light bulb in a thunderstorm."

The tears spilled over then. Vanellope spun away and wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her hoodie. Calhoun never liked to see anyone cry. Vanellope's voice wobbled as she asked, "What can we do?"

"First, you tell Ralph what you did."

"I can't."

"You have to. Then we go back down the basement and fix the codes."

"Can't we do that _without_ telling Ralph?" Vanellope tried for a smile.

Calhoun shook her head, slowly, deliberately. "No can do. A good relationship needs trust. You ought to know that."

"I do."

Vanellope took a deep breath to slow her frantically beating heart. She would do it. She would tell Ralph what she just told Calhoun.

_This is gonna be tough._


End file.
